One thing we worried about last year was that the move from Windows Phone 8 to the inevitable Windows Phone 9 would break compatibility with older handsets, as the move from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8 did. Since then, Microsoft has gone on the record to say that Windows Phone 8 handsets will "have an upgrade path going forward," so you ought to be able to buy a phone now and also get the new software when it comes.

Can we? The implication of what you wrote is Windows Phone 9 will be offered; but it would also fit with a rehash of what they did with WP7.8; which had some mostly cosmetic updates to match WP8 but lacked compatibility with apps written for the new version.

Throwing the LG G2 in the mix would have been nice as an alternate Android flagship phone. The OIS and improved sensor puts the camera well above any other Android phone I've seen. (I've ever used the Z1.) It also has a respectable battery.

The real downer is LG in particular and Verizon in general have a subpar track record for OS updates.

Man I was so hoping for a Firefox OS review here. I've got a Geeksphone Peak+ on order and I'm hoping to god it can get me off the iOS train.

How long before Firefox OS is included in this guide? Don't forget the little guys!

Probably when they go from toys for geeks and early adopters to something with a meaningful market share. Mozilla committing to a phone officially released to consumers in the developed market would probably help as well.

I bought a Moto X because of the Active Notifications feature. Being able to manage notifications without unlocking the phone is an excellent idea. It also helps that the industrial design is sensible, with slim bezels making for a one-handed friendly form factor.

I'm an Android fan, but you're dead-on about the over-exuberant skinning most manufacturers apply to it. Samsung and LG even futz with the system font, ruining text in important apps like the Play Store.

No mention of one of the main disadvantages of Android? I'm talking about security. While iOS is far from immune to attack, the fact that you can't arbitrarily install/run whatever you want gives it a huge leg up on Android when it comes to security.

Obviously, reasonable people can and do disagree as to whether the more controlled iOS platform is better than Android, but there's no arguing that it is more secure. Flexibility comes at a price.

Another area where iOS continues to excel is in its third-party app library—usually, if you need something, you can find a well-designed app that will do it somewhere in the app store. While "big name" apps like Hulu, Dropbox, Netflix, Spotify, and others are all available on most of the major platforms at this point, iOS continues to lead in individual areas...

I count seven iOS-only apps on my first screen and dock alone (no, I'm not counting Safari). And I just deleted Tweetbot and Reeder, which would have made it nine.

I come from Android, and had the same functionality in other apps there, but there are a some small iOS only shops that really put a lot of polish on their apps.

No mention of one of the main disadvantages of Android? I'm talking about security. While iOS is far from immune to attack, the fact that you can't arbitrarily install/run whatever you want gives it a huge leg up on Android when it comes to security.

Nonsense. The option to allow installation from "unknown sources" is disabled by default. Leave it that way and use reputable app stores.

Man I was so hoping for a Firefox OS review here. I've got a Geeksphone Peak+ on order and I'm hoping to god it can get me off the iOS train.

How long before Firefox OS is included in this guide? Don't forget the little guys!

Probably when they go from toys for geeks and early adopters to something with a meaningful market share. Mozilla committing to a phone officially released to consumers in the developed market would probably help as well.

So Ars is main stream consumerism products only? I don't think it would be a wasted page to peruse the Ars eye over the smaller smart phone OS's and include them in a systems guide such as this. After all this is a tech forum, and a vast number of readers are infact 'Geeks' so it would be prudent to cover their interest also.

Whatever "notification center" Microsoft puts in to appease commenters like these, please don't do it like the annoyance-fest of the Android and iOS implementation.

Glancing at your Start screen and seeing info on the live tiles really is a valid way of staying notied about things. Can it be improved? Of course. But saying you have to look at your tiles like it's a bad thing sounds silly when that's the point of them, like saying you have to look at a notification drawer like it's a bad thing. And the complaint I never understood... "What about the app that you want notifications from but you don't want to pin?" Well if you don't want to pin it, why do you want notifications from it?

Man I was so hoping for a Firefox OS review here. I've got a Geeksphone Peak+ on order and I'm hoping to god it can get me off the iOS train.

How long before Firefox OS is included in this guide? Don't forget the little guys!

Probably when they go from toys for geeks and early adopters to something with a meaningful market share. Mozilla committing to a phone officially released to consumers in the developed market would probably help as well.

So Ars is main stream consumerism products only? I don't think it would be a wasted page to peruse the Ars eye over the smaller smart phone OS's and include them in a systems guide such as this. After all this is a tech forum, and a vast number of readers are infact 'Geeks' so it would be prudent to cover their interest also.

They didn't cover Blackberry, either. I would expect a review of the FF phone when it releases, but to expect it to be included in what is essentially the "Ars Recommendation" is way too early in the FF Phone lifecycle.

I like your choice of the Moto X as the best overall Android phone. It's the best balance of device size, screen res, SoC, with some unique functions added.

So, what was the internal discussion on why not deciding on a best overall phone? Not worth it? Not really possible?

I would like to quibble with this:

Quote:

For several years, Apple has led the pack when it comes to mobile GPU performance, and the Imagination Technologies graphics cores that the new Apple A7 uses can best even the mighty (and ubiquitous) Snapdragon 600 and 800 in 3D rendering speeds.

Maybe as writer you fall in love with the turn of a phrase or an idea that is "obviously true". But if Apple has sustained a GPU advantage through the years, and continues to be either at parity or have a GPU advantage, what is so mighty about the Adreno 320/330? Shouldn't Apple's GPUs be considered "mighty" while the Adreno 320/330 be the challenger?

Secondly, it's doubtful to me that the S600 and S800 are ubiquitous. Apple only has 10 to 15% of the "smartphone" market, yes. But the non-USA version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 shipped with a Mali-400 GPU and the non-USA version of the Galaxy S4 ships with a PowerVR SGX544MP3. The GSM Galaxy Note II/III ships with Mali-6xx graphics. The LTE version with an Adreno (I think).

Considering the installed base of iPhone and non-USA Galaxy S/Note devices, Adreno 320/330 GPUs are probably running 3rd behind PowerVR and Mali GPU unit share. If you are only thinking about the USA market, then I think it's likely PowerVR is number 1 as well, than probably Adreno GPUs.

An entertaining article, but I think consumers purchase cell phones based on multiple criteria, and not just because their usage fits into a neat silo called "Productivity" or "Gaming" or "Music/Video/Entertainment". The one exception I see to this would be the Photography silo; The Lumia 1020 is a beast.

As an example, if you follow the Ars writers meta-twitter feed, you'll see that a lot of the Ars staff use iPhones as their daily smartphone and that they're obviously productive with it (I think they'd get something else if they were not). Obviously, there's a professional/personal balance they like, along with other determining factors.

Music playback should really have the Nexus 5 higher due to its massive battery improvements. At the least, it deserves a mention that it doubled due to changes within 4.4.

Also can't really agree with video going to the iPhone because it's too small and the resolution is too small. For that, the real winner goes to something not listed here: Sony Xperia Z Ultra. Which also deserves a mention to be honest - it checks off all the hardware marks Snapdragon 800, LTE), has a MicroSD, and dwarfs the other phones with its gorgeous 1080p 6.4" screen. If you're of the motto bigger is better and can afford the non Nexus 5 phones, there is zero competition.

I have an iPhone 5s and several Android devices. Between Android and iOS, I have a love/hate relationship with both platforms - they manage to piss me off in different ways.

'But at least in Android, you can change it to how you want it.' For the most part, yes. But that's also part of its problem. I spend more time fucking with my Android devices than I do actually using them. It's a HUGE time suck. With iOS, you figure out pretty quickly what isn't possible, and just learn to live with it And that's not always a bad thing. There is a certain freedom that comes with that lack of freedom... like the freedom to go outside every once in awhile

Sure, it's POSSIBLE to use Android and not tinker with it endlessly, just like it's possible to sleep with a hot chick and not bang her. But seriously, who wants to do that

I'm still on my phone daily. I use a Lumia 920 and, as a cousin to the 925 and 928, I'd say it definitely is a great all-around phone. I also used it for a while at my old job where we had Yahoo email and I made extensive use of the Office suite on it. For getting work done, it did a fantastic job.

That said, as I haven't picked up a new phone for a year (except the new iPhone), I'm surprised my 920 is said to be a "brick". It certainly isn't the most svelte, but it feels good to hold most of the time. Maybe I just like bricks.

Man I was so hoping for a Firefox OS review here. I've got a Geeksphone Peak+ on order and I'm hoping to god it can get me off the iOS train.

How long before Firefox OS is included in this guide? Don't forget the little guys!

Probably when they go from toys for geeks and early adopters to something with a meaningful market share. Mozilla committing to a phone officially released to consumers in the developed market would probably help as well.

Here's a nice addendum to the state of mobile phones by a master plot designer, Horace Dediu:

It's an iPhone related chart, but Dediu includes major OEMs as well. Mobile phones are in the latter half of it's growth stage, where everything is basically good and should meet the needs of most everyone. Maybe another year or two of interesting devices. We're pretty close to being in the 2009 to 2013 era of PCs, maybe we are already in it. Kind of boring. New performance increases, albeit kind of small, haven't been that beneficial. New form factors haven't really stuck, and we all remain satisfied with a clamshell laptop or a desktop. Looks like in the mobile world, it's the slate form factor.

Mobile phones are in the latter half of it's growth stage, where everything is basically good and should meet the needs of most everyone. Maybe another year or two of interesting devices. We're pretty close to being in the 2009 to 2013 era of PCs, maybe we are already in it. Kind of boring.

This is one thing that kind of bugs me about tech review blogs. They kick the losers when they're down, but really the difference for an unsophisticated user between the very best smartphones and the merely mediocre losers is small today for things like hardware capability and basic OS. It's only really the app availability that is all that different now, yet reviewers claim some phones are "garbage" or worse just because they might have more slippery plastic, or the occasional stutter when scrolling when this is stuff that regular users don't care about (or else Samsung wouldn't be number one)

Edit: forgot to mention that I like the mostly balanced nature of this review and Ars in general compared to some of the competition.

Is a device with a 6-inch display even a smartphone anymore? The Lumia 1520 is so comically large that doing ordinary smartphone things with it feels like you're making a joke. At its best, the 1520 is a funny party trick. At its worst, it's absurd.

It would have been nice to see a review of Blackberry 10 instead of just propagating the 'company going out of business' rumor.

What rumor? Nobody claims to have inside information that they're selling the furniture right now, or anything like that. They're just looking at the company's actions, public plans, and performance over time, and making the informed prediction that yes, they're doomed.

and why should i believe microsoft this time when they said exactly the same about 7/7.5/7.8? they lied to us then,they probably will again.ms should have stuck to upgrading 6.5, we did'nt all want/need phones that could do everything android/ios could,if they had just upgraded 6.5 they would still be in charge of the enterprise part of the market,where they make big fat profits.

I like your choice of the Moto X as the best overall Android phone. It's the best balance of device size, screen res, SoC, with some unique functions added.

So, what was the internal discussion on why not deciding on a best overall phone? Not worth it? Not really possible?

The problem is how do you define "best"? The article itself is a hint of the issue, there's a best phone for productivity, another best phone for camera, etc. And for each person each of these aspects have different level of importance to them, therefore the best phone for a person would not be the best for another if they don't use their phones in exactly the same manner.

To name a "best overall phone" would make the article itself pointless, subjective, and starts a thermonuclear fanboi war in the forum.

What rumor? Nobody claims to have inside information that they're selling the furniture right now, or anything like that. They're just looking at the company's actions, public plans, and performance over time, and making the informed prediction that yes, they're doomed.

To be fair, Ars probably won't include a review of the Ouya when they do a compaison review of the Xbone and PS4. Although it would be reall cool to ready a 'state of video games in 2013' article.

OEMs tend to use a heavy hand with their Android skins, piling on bundled apps and dubiously beneficial features. Samsung is the biggest player in the Android space at the moment, and it in particular is guilty of this spaghetti-on-the-wall approach to hardware and software. The carriers get in on the fun too, adding their own branding and pre-loaded apps to Android phones sold on their networks.

I really think it's worth pointing out that none of this extra crap can be uninstalled by the user, without "rooting" and voiding the warranty on the device. Which is totally unacceptable, for an OS which bills itself as being "most open".